Hi guys, I'll be studying in Japan in the Fall and was wondering if there you knows any cosplay related events in the September to January time frame. What I am going to do is create cosplay videos (think Ackson, MLZ, etc.) and I'd appreciate it if anyone could help me with planning the dates out.

I know there is Comike but not much else. I've heard of an event called TFT? and that there is a fee for photographers (how much is this?), but don't know the date of that. I know I need some Japanese to get around so should I join my university's anime club?

Yeah TFT (tokyo fashion town) is also in Odaiba. It often takes place at the same time as Comiket and is just another building for cosplayers to take pictures in.

Off hand I can just think of Dream Party in October, the Tokyo Game Show, and winter Comiket.

Some events charge 5-800 yen to register your camera. But they won't let you register a video camera. That's one downside to Japanese cosplay events. They often don't allow video recording and many cosplayers won't let you take videos of their costumes.

So you either have to have pre-set up plans, surreptitiously sneak in your camera and hope that cosplayers are willing to shoot with you. And if you don't know Japanese...any kind of directing can be tough.

Yes, actually. Comiket is the most loose of the events. Cosplay is allowed in a bunch of areas, you don't have to register your camera and video is okay.

As for your DSLR, I've been to some events where they told me not to use the video setting on my camera, haha. But again, if your sly about it, you should be fine. But cosplayers often know the rules and if you ask to take video they could say no.

If you're in and around Tokyo, there are cosplay events happening every single weekend at places like Tokyo Big Sight, TFT, Heisei Plaza, Tokyo Leisure Land, Sanrio, Toshimaen, Tokyo Dome City, etc. Not to mention, dozens of studios intended for cosplayers and their photographers are open every day of the week. Most of the events taking place don't get a lot of hype because they are for cosplay only (no selling booths, stages, or panels), but if the cosplay is all you're interested, then there are hundreds of events to choose from. The trick is knowing enough Japanese to be able to navigate the event schedules and understand the rule constraints.

If you want to try looking things up on your own, this is a good resource: http://ja.curecos.com/event/
1. Select a date from the calendar.
2. Select 東京都 from the drop down menu, if you want to limit your search to Tokyo.
3. Press the white button marked 検索.
That will give you a list of all of the cosplay events and open cosplay studios around Tokyo and Odaiba for any given day.

If you're in and around Tokyo, there are cosplay events happening every single weekend at places like Tokyo Big Sight, TFT, Heisei Plaza, Tokyo Leisure Land, Sanrio, Toshimaen, Tokyo Dome City, etc. Not to mention, dozens of studios intended for cosplayers and their photographers are open every day of the week. Most of the events taking place don't get a lot of hype because they are for cosplay only (no selling booths, stages, or panels), but if the cosplay is all you're interested, then there are hundreds of events to choose from. The trick is knowing enough Japanese to be able to navigate the event schedules and understand the rule constraints.

If you want to try looking things up on your own, this is a good resource: http://ja.curecos.com/event/
1. Select a date from the calendar.
2. Select 東京都 from the drop down menu, if you want to limit your search to Tokyo.
3. Press the white button marked 検索.
That will give you a list of all of the cosplay events and open cosplay studios around Tokyo and Odaiba for any given day.

This was a great help to me! Thank you so much. I only care about cosplay, haha! Should I message a cosplayer before going to the event just to make sure of the rules/etc.?